Cribbing



April 23, 1940.

E. c ALEXANDER CRIBBING Filed June 8, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 ha Je g@ dl"y a@ rl HZe/zdfacz/ez" April 2.3, '1940- A E. c. ALEXANDER 2,197,960

l CRIBBING Filed June 8, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 23, 1940.

E. C. ALEXANDER CRIBBING Filed June 8, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 jidezaz'r yEarl C. lexzzzdez April 23, 1940.

E. c. ALEXANDER CRIBBING Filed June 8, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 g PatentedApr. 23, 1940 UNITED STATES CRIBEING Earl C. Alexander, Glen Ellyn,Ill., assignor to Massey Concrete Products Corporation, Chicago, Ill., acorporation of`Virginia Application June s, 193s, serial No. 212,450

' 11 claims. (Cl. (s1- 4.7)

The present invention relates to cribbing, and is particularly concernedwith' concrete cribbing of the type adapted to be used in buildingretaining walls and the like.

The concrete cribbing must be placed transversely with respect to eachother to build up a wall, the interstices of which are filled with dirtand rock or gravel iilling.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of cribbing memberswhich are adapted to be used to build up various types of cribbingwalls, such as the open face, ush type, the open face type lhavingprotruding headers, and the closed face, liush type of cribbing. lAnother object of the invention is the provision of improved cribbingmembers 'of a novel structure adapted to have interlocking connectionwith each other at the points of bearing, without the necessity forhaving projecting lugs or interlocking members formed thereon, such asmight be apt to be broken off.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved cribbingin which the interlocking engagement is provided by means of diagonallyextended bearing surfaces, which are so arranged that they not onlysupport the Weight of the superposed cribbing members, but also preventthe outward movement of the stretchers with respect to the headers andprevent the lateral displacement of the headers.

Referring to the drawings, of which there are four sheets,

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view showing a cribbing wall constructedaccording to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view, taken on the plane of the line 2-2of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows, showing the structureof the Wall;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary front elevational view, showing a structure ofthe wall;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view in perspective of one stretcher and oneheader, used at the front of the wall, the positions and the bracketindicating the mode in which they are assembled;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary elevational view of a portion of the front ofthe wall, showing. a modied form of construction, in which thefront-faceof the wall is substantially closed, except to make provision fordrainage; y

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical view, taken on the plane of the 4line 66 of Fig.5, looking in the direction of the arrows;

7 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view,

taken on the plane of the line l--l of Fig. 5, look. i

ing in the direction of the arrows; y

Fig. 8 is av front elevational view of a stretcher constructed accordingto the present invention;

Fig. 9 is a vertical sectional view, taken on the plane of the line 9-9of Fig. 8, looking inthe direction of the arrows; Fig. 10 is a sideelevational view of a'header constructed according to the present'invention; Fig. 11 is an end elevational view of the left end of Fig.10, taken on the plane of the line lI-l I, looking in the directionofthe arrows;

Fig. 12 is a top plan view of the header of Fig. 10; v -l y Fig. 13 is afront elevational view of a modified form of stretcher of the typeemployed in the wall of Fig. 5;

Fig. 14 is an end elevational view of the stretcher of Fig. 13, takenfrom the right end, on

the plane of the line M'l-M of Fig.' 13,'looking inA the direction ofthe arrows;

Fig. 15 is a View similar to Fig. 5 of a modifie y form of open facecribbing; i Fig. 16 is a fragmentary vertical sectional View, taken onthe plane of the line lli-I6 of Fig; 15, looking in the direction of thearrows; Fig. 17 is a view similar to Fig. 16 of 'another modified formof cribbing, in whichboth'ends of the headers are'of -similarconstruction;

Fig. 18 is a view similar to Fig. 6 Aof another modication;

Fig. 19 is a view in perspective of the stretcher employed in themodification of Fig. 18; Fig. 20" is a fragmentary front elevationalview of a modified form of cribbing wall;

Fig. 21 is a fragmentary vertical sectional View, taken on the plane ofthe line 2 l-2I of Fig. 20;

Fig. `22 is a view similar' to Fig. 20 of another modification; v

Fig. 23 is a fragmentary vertical sectional View, taken on Athe plane ofthe line 23-23 of Fig. 22;

Fig. 24, with the bracket, is a view in perspec# tive of a stretcher andheader of the construction shown in Figs. 20 and 21, showing the'details` of their construction and the mode in which they are assembled;

Fig. 25 is a view in perspective of a header of the type of thestructure shown in Figs. 22 and 23. Fig. 26 is an end elevationalA viewof the stretcher of Fig. 19.

Referring to Figs. 2-4 and Figs. 21 and 23, the cribbing walls may bebuilt up vertically, as shown in Figs; 1-3, or they may be built up atan angle, as shown in Figs. 21-28. In either case the construction ofthekwall is the same. Both methods have been included for the purpose ofillustration.

The cribbing of Figs. 1-4 is built up of a plurality of cribbing membersplaced transversely to each other and intersecting and supporting eachother at the ends and points of intersection.

The specific construction ofthe header member is shown in Fig. 4, and itpreferably comprises `a precast reinforced concrete member, indicated inits entirety by the numeral 36, having a pair of fiat, vertical sides 3I, 32, all parts of which are preferably located in the same plane.

The ends 33, 34 are also preferably plane, but the left end of Fig. 4 ispreferably beveled off at each of the four corners, the beveled surfacesbeing indicated by the numeral 35.

The right end of the header member v30 is preferably of substantially Tshape, having an upwardly extending portion 3E and a downwardlyextending portion 3l'. The ends 38 of these lugs are preferably flat orplane surfaces, and the lugs preferably taper from their ends downtoward the body, the inner surfaces of the lugs comprising thediago-nally extending surfaces 39.

The top and bottom 4l of the main body of the header 3B are preferablyplane surfaces, but the bearing surfaces 42 and 43 preferably extenddiagonally outward from the top 40 to the bottom 4I at a slight angle,which may be substantially that shown in the drawings, so that the end33 is longer in a vertical direction than the cross section of the bodyportion at the plane surfaces 40, 4i.

`The angularity of the surfaces 42, 43 is such that it correspondssubstantially to the angularity of the top 44 and bottom 45 of thestretcher 46 (Fig. 4:).- Thus, When the bearing surface 43 of a headeris laid upon the top surface 44 of a stretcher, these surfaces t eachother, when the header and stretcher in question are in succeedingcourses of the cribbing wall.

Likewise, when a stretcher has its diagonal bearing surface 45 laidl onthe bearing surface 42 of the header Sil, the angularity of these twobearing surfaces corresponds, when the stretchers and headers are laidup in courses, as shown in Figs. l and 3.

In the main body of the cribbing wall of Figs. 1 to 3, only three typesof cribbing members are needed, the front stretchers 4B and the rearstretchers 41, and the headers 3G. However, several special forms may beemployed for use as foundations, such as the front foundation member 48,the rear foundation member 49, and for finishing off the front top ofthe wall by means of the top cribbing member 5B.

The top cribbing member 51|! and front foundation member 48eme of thesame shape throughout their length, and they each have the fiat forwardsurface 5l, the fiat rear surface 52, a

fiat surface 53, which may be at the top or bot-` tom, a diagonalsurface 54, and a short surface 55 which is parallel to the surface 53.The only difference between the members 50 and 48 is that one is upsidedown with respect to the other. The foundation member 49 may be ofrectangular cross section and of uniform size'throughout its length. Thelength of all of the stretchers is the same. Thus the foundation member49 has six plane rectangular sides. It is of greater width for thereason that it supports the whole cribbing wall.

The rear stretchers 47 may also be prismatic in form, being square incross section and having six plane sides. They are of such depth thatthe height of the rear stretcher members 41 corresponds to the highestdimension, that is, the rear dimension of the front stretcher members4G.

The well is built up by laying header members 38 transversely on thefoundation members 48 and 49 in spaced relation to each other andparallel to each other at such distances from each other that astretcher member will reach from the center line of one header to thecenter line of the next. Then front stretcher members and rear stretchermembers are laid in one course along the ends of the header members,with the bearing surfaces in contact as shown in Fig. 2, to form a rearstretcher wall and a front stretcher wall.

Successive headers and stretchers are laid in the same way until thewall is of the height desired. If the front wall is to be at an angle,then the foundation members must be at a slightly different level, toaccomplish this result.

The cribbing shown in Figs. 2 and 3 corresponds to that at the left sideof Fig. 1,'which is a showing of a wall having two types of stretchers.That portion of the wall may be termed a ush type open face wall, asthere are places be tween the stretchers in the successive courses. Therear wall is not flush type, because the T-shaped headers project fromit, and it is also open face because there are spaces between thestretchers.

In any cribbing installation it is likely that only the appearance ofthe front wall will be important, as the rear wall may be covered up;yet the present stretcher members are adapted to be used with either endtoward the front, so as to construct a number of different types offorward walls.

Referring to Figs. 13 and 14, these are views of a modified form ofstretcher which corresponds to the right hand column of Fig. l. Thesestretcher members are adapted to make a substantially closed face flushtype front cribbing wall. The stretcher 5B of Fig. 13 is ofsubstantially ythe same construction as that of Fig. 4. except that itis provided on its lower face 45 with a depending portion 51, which isof the same thickness as the complete stretcher from front to back, butwhich substantially fills the space between successive courses ofstretchers.

Referring to Figs. 15 and 16, these are fragments of cribbing wallsbuilt up with another modified form of header and stretcher. The rearstretchers and rear end of the headers are the same as described withrespect to Fig. 2.

The top 44 of the stretcher 5S slants diagonally upward, and is the sameas in Figs. 1 to 4. The bottom bearing surface 43 on the header is thesame as in Fig. 4. However. the bottom 58 of the stretcher 59 ishorizontal or substantially at right angles to the front and rearsurfaces of the stretcher. and the top surface 60 of the header is alsohorizontal and in the same plane as the top surface 40 of the main bodyof the header. In this case. each stretcher is retained against outwardmovement by engagement of its top with the bottom of a header, and byvirtue of the friction between headers and stretchers, which isaugmented by the weight of these members and the weight of the fill.

Referring to Fig. 17, this is a modification in which a modified form ofheader 62 is combined with front stretchers 46 and with rear stretchers46 of the same shape as the front stretchers, thus providing an openface, flush faced wall at the front and back of the cribbing.

f Referring to Figs. 18, 19, and 26, these are views of a modified formof streacher and fragment of a cribbing wall including it. In this casethe main body of the stretcher 63 is of the same shape as the stretcher46 of Fig. 2, except that it is provided with a depending apron 64.

The depending apron is not as long as the main body, extending only tosuch a point adjacent the ends of the stretcher that the apron willengage the sides of the headers. This stretcher may be compared withFig. 14 by pointing out that the apron 64 in this case is not as thickas the complete stretcher, but comprises a relatively thin dependingconcrete flange. The stretchers, therefore, in Fig. 18 may be of thesame construction as shownin Fig. 14, and may be combined in the mannerpreviously described, with the headers.

This makes a cribbing wall which is substantially closed faced, havinghorizontal cracks at the point 65.

Referring to Figs. and 6, these are views of a modified form ofvcribbing wall in which stretchers of the type of Figs. 13 and 14 areemployed. In this case the stretcher has its main body in the same shapeas the stretcher 46 of Fig. 2, but it is provided with a dependingportion 57 of the same thickness as the main body of the stretcher andadapted to closethe space which would exist between the courses ofstretchers if it were constructed vaccording to Fig. 2.

Referring to .Fi-g. 8, this is a front elevational view of a. stretcherconstructed according to Fig. 4.

Fig. 9 shows a cross sectional part of stretcher which is provided withthe diagonally extending top surface 44, the bottom bearing surface 45,and the front and back surfaces 66, 61, which are parallel to eachother. Thus this form of stretcher is substantially trapezoidal in'cross section.

Referring to Fig. 10, this is a side elevational view of a headeremployed in the construction of Fig. 2.

Fig.'11 shows an end elevational view of the left end of the header; andFig. l2 shows a top plan view.

Fig. '7 is a section taken at the joint between the headers andstretchers, and it shows that the stretchers are cut out sufficiently tomake room for the ends of the headers.

` Referring to Figs. 20 and 21, these are fragmentary views of acribbing wall embodying va modified form of stretcher. In thisembodiment the headers may be the same as shown in Fig. 10 or Fig. 2,designated by the numeral 36.

The stretchers may be substantially prismatic in shape, having the upperflat surfaces 68 and lower at vsurfaces 69, which are parallel to eachother, and the front surface 16 and back surface 1|, which are alsoparallel to each other. However, each stretcher is cut out adjacent itsend, at the top and bottom, and provided with a diagonally extendingbearing surface 12, which has the same angularity as the top bearingsurface on the stretcher 46.

The bearing surface 'l2 in this case, however, is disposed below thesurface 68 of the main body of the stretcher, and there is an annularshoulder 13 which engages the side of the header, if an open face flushtype cribbing is desired. The specific construction of the header memberin this case is shown in greater detail in the spective View of Fig. 24.

In this case the angularity of the bearing surface 12 corresponds to theangularity ofthe lower bearing surface 43 on the header, but the headersare positively secured by the shoulders 13 against lateral movement. Thetype of cribbing wall is a iiush type, open face, as there are cracks 14between the successive stretchers. This construction could, however, bemade closed face, like Fig. 5, by providing a depending apron on thestretchers.

Referring to Fig. 24, this View shows in greater detail the constructionof the stretcher and header of Figs. and 21 and the way in which theyare assembled. The length of the bearing surface 12 is half the width ofthe header 30.

Referring to Figs. 22 and 23, this type of cribbing wall is the same asFigs. 20 and 21 except that positiveprovision is made to prevent thebackward sliding of the stretchers on the headers. In this case theheader 15 has its main body and rear end of the same construction as theheader of the construction previously described. At its forward end itis rectangular in cross section and provided with the upper, diagonallyextending bearing surface 16 and the lower diagonally extending bearingsurface Tl'. These bearing surfaces, however, do not meet flush with thetop 4D and bottom 4l of the main body of the header 15. There is anoiset or a shoulder 18 between the bearing surface I6 and the top 40 ofa similar shoulder 19 between the bottom bearing surface 11 and thebottom 4I of the header. Shoulders T8 and 'I9 engage against the back ofthe stretchers 46, which may be of the same construction as shown inFig. 4.

It will thus be observed that I'have invented an improved cribbing, themembers of which .may be used to make all the various types of cribbingwalls which may be desired. The stretchers of the front cribbing wallare locked in place by the inter-engagement of the diagonally extendingbearing surfaces on these stretchers with diagonally extending bearingsurfaces vof the same angularity on thevheaders. Ample provision is madeto hold the stretchers in place and also to prevent the lateral motionof the headers.

While I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, manymodications may be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention, and I do not wish to be limited to the precise details ofconstruction set forth, but desire to avail myself of all changes withinthe scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. In a concrete cribbing, the combination of a plurality of stretchersand headers laid alternately and transversely on each other to form aDer' icf

concrete cribbing certain of said headers having l BOL forward, back,top, and bottom surfaces, the front and back surfaces being parallel toeach other, and the top and bottom surfaces extending at an angle toeach other, the stretcher tapering in depth from the back toward thefront. i

3. In a concrete cribbing, a header member comprising a concrete memberhaving a body portion of substantially rectangular cross sectionprovided with four plane sides and having an end portion provided withflat sides and with diagonally extending upper and lower bearingsurfaces, the said upper and lower bearing surfaces being planesurfaces, and having a predetermined angularity which corresponds tothat of the bearing surfaces on a stretcher to be used with the header.

4.111 a concrete cribbing, a header member comprising a concrete memberhaving a body portion of substantially rectangular cross sectionprovided with four plane sides and having an end portion provided withflat sides and with diagonally extending upper and lower bearingsurfaces, the said upper and lower bearing surfaces being planesurfaces, and having a predetermined angularity which corresponds tothat of the bearing surfaces on a stretcher to be used with the header,said diagonally extending bearing surfaces being offset with respect tothe upper and lower surfaces of the main body portion of said header,whereby a shoulder is formed engaging behind the stretcher when theheader is assembled with stretchers in the cribbing.

5. In a concrete cribbing, the combination of a concrete cribbing membercomprising a header provided with a prismaticbody portion, said bodyportion being formed at one end with a plane bearing surface whichextends at an angle with respect to the surface of said body portion,and on the opposite side with a plane bearing surface which is in thesame plane as the surface of the body portion, and stretcher membershaving bearing surfaces of substantially the same angularity as thosesurfaces on the header which they engage, located above and below saidheader.

6. In a concrete cribbing, the combination of a plurality of stretchersand headers laid alternately and transversely upon each other, theheaders resting on the stretchers, and the stretchers resting on theheaders at the ends of the stretchers and headers, to form a concretecribbing, said stretchers being provided at one end with diagonallyextending combined bearing and retaining surfaces, and said headersbeing provided with complementary diagonally extending combined bearingand retaining surfaces whereby the stretchers are retained by theheaders against outward pressure caused by the action of the fill.

7. In a concrete cribbing, the combination of a plurality of stretchersand headers laid alternately and transversely upon each other, theheaders resting on the. stretchers, and the stretchers resting on theheaders at the ends of the 8. In a concrete cribbing member, a 'header'comprising a concrete member having a body portion of substantiallyrectangular crossv Section provided with four plane sides and having anend portion provided with plane sides and with a diagonally extendingbearing surface on one side, the opposite bearing surface beingsubstantially in the plane of the side on which it is located, saiddiagonally extending bearing surface also serving to retain an adjacentstretcher member in a cribbing assembly.

9. In a concrete cribbing member, a stretcher having plane upper, lower,front, back, and end surfaces, said stretcher being substantially trape-Zoidal in cross section, whereby the upper andv lower surfaces extenddiagonally and the stretcher increases in breadth from the front to theback, the upper and lower surfaces being adapted to serve as combinedbearing and retaining surfaces in engaging complementary surfaces on'headers.

l0. In a concrete cribbing member, a cribbing member comprising astretcher having a body portion provided with plane upper, lower, front,rear, and end surfaces, said stretcher having at its end diagonallyextending combined bearing and retaining surfaces for engaging a surfaceof similar angularity on a header.

ll. In a concrete cribbing, the combination of a plurality of stretchersand headers laid alternately and transversely upon each other, theheaders resting on the'stretchers and the stretchers resting on theheaders at the ends of the stretchers and headers to form a concretecribloing, said stretchers being provided at one end with a bearingsurface consisting of a diagonally L extending surface adapted also toserve as a retaining surface, and the Said headers being provided withcomplementary diagonally extending bearing surfaces which are adapted tosustain the weight of the superimposed cribbing members and also wherebythe stretchers are retained by the headers against outward pressure ofthe action caused by the ll, the said stretchers and. headers beingcharacterized at said end by the absence of any other bearing surfacesthan said diagonally extending bearing and retaining surfaces.

EARL C. ALEXANDER.

